The Bulls veteran point guard says the injury issues that plagued him last year are gone and he's excited for the Bulls franchise player to get back on the court

Published Aug 13, 2013 at 6:47 AM

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NBA training camp is just around the corner and the start of the 2013-14 season isn’t too far behind. There’s a lot of optimism surrounding the Chicago Bulls these days with the pending return of Derrick Rose, and it’s not just with the fans.

It’s certainly in stark contrast to the start of last season when it was known it would be a while before we saw D. Rose on the court again. And for as much of a success the Bulls achieved without Rose, the team still couldn’t fight off the injury bug. That’s been a big problem around these parts for years.

One player who seemed to always either be hurt or injured was Kirk Hinrich. Brought back to the Bulls to assume the starting point guard duties with Rose out, the 10-year veteran appeared in 60 regular season contests and just four of Chicago’s 11 postseason games.

Speaking at a PGA Tour event on Monday, Hinrich says that his body is healthy and he’s excited for this season and of course, the return of Derrick Rose.

“I’m feeling much better,” Hinrich told the Chicago Tribune. “I feel like I’ve had a good offseason. I had time to take care of my body, heal up and start preparing for next year."

And on the return of Rose Hinrich said, “I’m very excited. We have most of our guys back. We had some great additions. The anticipation of Derrick coming back healthy and it sounds like he’s motivated. We think we have a very good chance … you can just tell he feels excited to have the opportunity to get back out there and just play basketball. That’s what he loves to do and we’re excited to have him back."